First Orbit

In 2011, for the 50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarins flight in Vostok 1, a film, titled First Orbit, was released which told the story of the flight in an incredibly unique way: from the perspective of Gagarin himself.

The International Space Station, having a core of Russion components, orbits in the same inclination as Vostok 1 did all those years ago, of approximately 51 degrees off from the Equater. Due to the position of the Russian launch site in Kazakhstan, this is the most efficient orbital insertion inclination, so it makes sense that both would share this flight path.

The more interesting thing is that this flight path, at certain times during the year, matches the flight of Gagarin quite accurately. Over a period of a few months, when the timing was perfect, crew members on the ISS filmed the view of the Earth below. While the film is done in an artistic style, it still, I feel, captures the spirit of the flight, and helps to make the events of that day 55 years ago all the more real to those of us who care about such.

I really don’t have much else to say, the film stands on it’s own merit. Check it out below.